Channel Mobius

Contents

Channel Mobius

Overview

Channel
Mobius is an extended-universe and roleplay created by Austin
Bison and loosely based on the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Channel Mobius itself takes place in an artificial satellite known
as “Station DW10” (standing for Station Digital World 10). This large
satellite, orbiting Earth is a giant, electronic server that stores thousands
of different “.sho” files, where footage and data is recorded, scanned, and digitally
sent from Earth to DW10 to be archived.

Players assume the role of a Host, a Mobian who
collects .sho files to build their own small, virtual-reality world (notated as
a .scn file on the DW10 computer) stored on the station. They can explore and
traverse the different .scn through the form of an avatar created and built by
a host.

Backstory

Channel
Mobius takes place of an alternate universe of Planet Earth,
where Mobian animals take the place of humans. It begins in the year 2120, just
as a scientific coalition between the United States, Canada, Japan, and The
United Arab Emirates unveil their newest creation. This team of scientists and
programmers were tasked with creating a new, self-contained version of the
internet that can exists without the influence or possibility of hacking or
program manipulation. The internet, while widespread and vastly present in
everyday life had become expensive to keep up and protect from cybercrime.

Thus, an alternative in
the form of a DW10, a satellite hosting a supercomputer and its own internal
server, was developed. Governments around the world saw this as a new way to
“have their own cake and eat it too”, as it provided a virtual-world with
nearly all of the freedom and creativity the internet bolsters with the same
scrutiny as real-world entertainment.

Even though each
individual person is able to create their own SCN’s and SHO’s, there was very
little security when it came to traversing the various different locations and
finding SCN files. This system was comparable to the real world. Unlike the
internet, where each computer could be pinged and tracked from the IP address,
one could not track which SCN files a person kept from simply visiting a
different file. Just like in real life, you would need to knowingly give a
person or source your unique address to access your files. Of course, just like
delivering goods as well, your local government could track and assess the different types of SHOs and data you put in your SCN too, thus monitoring any suspicious or illegal activity.

Of course, complaints
about freedom and privacy rang from some of those curious or doubtful of the
project, but a good many took interest and decided to try anyway. It would be
easy enough to keep their personal lives and this new virtual world separate anyway. That wasn’t the main concern, at least a few years after DW10 was
already in operation. No, the problems began when dollar signs began to appear
in the hosts’ eyes.

It turns out, that many of those on Earth loved to tune into
some of these different “channels”. More and more people began to watch the
network, thus leading to more and more people setting up channels within DW10.
Eventually, space became limited and hierarchies formed, with the more popular
channels gaining far more precedent when it came to space. Many within the
network began to complain that they were losing viewers by way of overshadowing
them with the bigger, well-funded “shows”. In response to these complaints,
DW10 repossessed many of the inactive and unwatched channels in their network
(about 30% of the total storage capacity) to convert into an enormous
“mega-channel” known as Channel Mobius.

Channel Mobius is a world
within itself, about the size of a small country, and while most of this area
is currently undeveloped wilderness, the main attraction of this channel is
Signal City. The city itself is an inorganic, high-tech utopia whose landscape
exists on two levels: the roads and streets on the ground and a network of
ethereal bridges that connect the skyscrapers to each other. The web of roofs
hosts the “Mobius Battle”, a competition where representatives from other
channels battle to gain either attention from the public or property in Channel
Mobius, thus gaining a share of profit and wealth accrued from DW10.

Anything goes in this
everlasting contest, and none of the competitors are safe, thus participants
must stay on the lookout and prevent themselves from their data being wiped and
being eliminated during battle hours

The Structure of Signal City

The first rule of the
city is that no violent conflict can take place on the base level. Signal City
is not a fancy background or design plastered upon an arena. It is a living,
breathing urban center (regardless of it being a part of a computer program),
and many of those who aren’t interested in conflict have simply chosen to move
and live within the various apartments, condos, and houses near and around the
city. This costs real world money, however, due to the average citizen not
being able to create new buildings or territories from scratch (which they’d be
able to do in their own channel). Thus,
it is better to simply let the average citizens enjoy their time in this
digital world and not involve them in unrelated conflicts.

The second rule is that
once you are eliminated, all your territory within Channel Mobius is taken back
and a participant must re-enter and start from scratch. Any new personal
powers, abilities, or personal items that were gained during their time in the
competition is kept though, as not to set the participants too far back.

The battles themselves
are “capture the flag” challenges Where the goal of a participant is to mark a
specific area and defend their territory from others who would try to eliminate
you and claim the territory for themselves. At the end of the night when the
sun rises, the competition is over and the one with the most territory is given
a piece of “land” outside of Signal City and a share of the profits from that
night’s ratings. The bottom three with the least amount of territory are
eliminated. Outside of these challenges, if anyone is out on the roofs during
the day, they are at risk of being eliminated by means of their data being
wiped (more commonly called “death” by most). Anyone who “kills” another
competitor on the streets during the day gains no territory, but will eliminate
the competitor regardless, thus minimizing competition. Killing a
non-competitive citizen is strictly forbidden and will result in an immediate
elimination and permanent ban from Signal City.

Story Arcs

Arc I: Intrusus

The champions of the
first round of fighting are Vivia and Celsus Barre. This win secured a vast
amount of airtime for their show, Castle
Mendacium. The executives of Channel Mobius also granted them their own studio
outside of Signal City to more conveniently produce and broadcast their work on
the channel.

Thus, the Barres
continued their work for the next few days peacefully, satisfied with what was
given. Shortly after, however, More and more castles started appearing and
slowly taking up a vast portion of extra space within the area, so much so that
many people (including DW10 moderators) suspected foul pay. A “door” was discovered
in the coding of the palace that would allow someone to teleport to and from
Vivia and Celsus’s home channel. All current evidence pointed towards the victorious
couple. The two were arrested in the real world and taken to a prison facility.
They were hooked up to a machine that intravenously provided food. water, and induced
the two into the digital server indefinitely to extract information as to how
they pulled off such a feat.

Despite
their capture, the show continued operations, broadcasting new episodes at the
same rate as before. Many have even witnessed lights within the bastion-like
studio and individuals patrolling the site. Some even claimed that the palace
was still growing as well (at a much smaller rate than before). The heads at
Channel Mobius took note of this but decided that simply investigating and
solving the incident themselves wasn’t nearly as profitable as they could be,
thus a new branch of the Mobius Battle was born. Every night, new and some
former competitors are sent into the bastion to search for answers about the
studio.

As
before, however, anything goes. Only one person, the sole agent who discovered
why and how the castle appeared, can win air-time and riches.